Hydrogen – Fuel Cell Technology, Infrastructure

Linde Completing Its First Hydro Station

Linde LLC is wrapping up construction of its first hydrogen fueling station in the U.S., which is expected to open before the end of the year in West Sacramento, California.

Linde, one of the nation's largest supliers of gas, is partnering with Ramos Oil Company, which will house the station at its facility, according to the company. At the location, Ramos now offers gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, ethanol (E-85), methanol, and racing fuels.

"We have been serving the Sacramento market with a variety of fuels for over 60 years, and we are anxious to support the infrastructure necessary to prove that hydrogen has a place in the transportation fuel mix," said Kent Ramos, president of Ramos Oil.

The California Energy Commission has begun awarding funding grants to build out hydrogen fuel infrastructure to support fuel cell vehicles that have begun to arrive. Hyundai began offering leases to retail customers this summer of its cuel-cell Tucson SUV, and Toyota and Honda plan to roll out fuel-cell sedans in 2015.

Linde has received funding in recent months for stations in Oakland and San Ramon, along with previous grant awards for five additional stations. Linde has also built and is operating two hydrogen fueling stations for California's AC Transit to fuel 12 hydrogen fuel cell buses in Emeryville and Oakland.

At the heart of the hydrogen fueling system is the Linde IC 90 ionic compressor, which enables higher throughput and enhanced back-to-back fueling. Unlike conventional piston-operated compressors, the IC 90 works with ionic liquid. Because these ionic liquids essentially have no vapor pressure, they don't evaporate or mix with the hydrogen gas.